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The History of~The United States (Part 3: Creating a Nation)
As we left off in our last part (click here) The American colonists have had it with the unjust and unfair laws and regulations their British occupiers were putting on them. As a result they rebelled, they have successfully defeated their occupiers and declared their own nation: The United States of America. This page is how the new nation had to go through some inner turmoil in order to solidify their own place in the world, how the political atmosphere was set up and even some uprisings that took place. Making of a Nation Now, there is definitely one thing that you have to remember, that when the United States was new. It didn't immediately become the "almighty superpower" we came to know and love today. It was pretty weak, fractured, indifferent, confused and poor. It had a small weak military, it's economy was also weak, and people were divided on how this new nation should be governed. When the USA was new, it also had a severe lack of income and men in it's military, it was reliant on it's own states on militias and money which the states (unsurprisingly) were reluctant to do. In 1781 (during the Revolution), the Continental Congress had ratified the Articles of Confederation which allowed the 13 original states to govern themselves *without* a centralized authority. Now you may ask yourself, why there was little to no centralized authority? Well during the time of Early America, centralized authority was still unpopular due to the harsh treatment the British Crown has given to the American Colonists. Even then, the articles did very little to help America grow and succeed in a rapidly changing world. Notable Figures 'Alexander Hamilton: '''One of America's founding fathers. A veteran of the Revolution, Hamilton also helped to improve our nation's economy. He would even write the first articles of the ''US Constitution. He would go on to be our nations' first Secretary of Treasury. 'James Madison: '''Another one of America's founding fathers, to further cement America's claim on the world, he writes out the first articles of ''The Bill of Rights. He would also go on to be America's 4th President. In 1789, a new way to govern was needed. Hamilton came up with the first articles of the US Constitution which gave a Centralized Government more power, this also brought along a lot of controversy as people thought it gave the Government "too much" power as it made the states and it's people pay taxes, and people at the time were still against "Taxation without representation". The Constitution allowed a "Union" to form and have the states to be into this new union, it also allowed a figure to govern all of the states (with limited power) known as a President, and it also allowed the people to vote for their President. The people chose George Washington (known for his service in the revolution) as their very first President. With this, The USA was improving, slowly but surely. But it wasn't invulnerable to rebellions, in fact 2 rebellions would happen during the creation of our country. Shays' Rebellion In 1787, a veteran of the revolution: Daniel Shays led an army of 4,000 men against what was believed to be the unfairness of the Government's views on the economy and civil rights. They head toward an armory in the town of Springfield, Massachusetts to supply themselves with suitable weapons. A fight would break out and last for around 10 months. But in the end, the rebels were put down. This rebellion also put the Articles of Confederation into question and asking for reform, and even formed a new modernized Government. Whiskey Rebellion Around 3 years later, there was a heavy tax on certain grains and beverages (including Whiskey which was the beverage of choice for most Americans in the 18th century), farmers all across America (including those in Western Pennsylvania) protested this new tax on Whiskey. This turned into a rebellion in the same year, it lasted for 3 years and ended with only just a few rebels dead. Though this was a Government victory, but Thomas Jefferson would repeal the tax during his Presidency. The Whiskey Rebellion would also prompt the creation of 2 different political parties: The Federalists (later known as the Democrats) and the Democratic Republicans (later known as just the Republicans). The Federalists were for a centralized government and for it to govern a bit more (but not to the extent of a dictatorship). The Democratic Republicans wanted less power for the Centralized Government and want the States to handle their own affairs. Unfortunately, this would have their own share of problems (too much to list of course), especially with 2 men which were Hamilton (mentioned before) and Thomas Jefferson's vice president Aaron Burr. There was a huge rivalry between the 2 men, and this would spill over into a duel. A duel with pistols. Pistol duels were done very specifically and meticulously, they have to make sure that everything is done correctly. The 2 men have to appoint seconds which makes all of the arrangements (e.g., the location, the procedure) and make sure that it also goes correctly. The duel Hamilton and Burr would be the most famous of all, it was in Weehawken. Hamilton shot wide, but Burr shot Hamilton (who would die from the duel the next day). Burr would have to step down as Vice President and reitre from public life. That is it for this page, America now has cemented itself as a legitimate nation. In the next page, it'll talk about how America wanted to expand it's influence and it's urge to move west (click here).